Mother‑of‑pearl meets Vietnamese lacquer in the Awake Sơn Mài Fragments collection
Jason LeeFounded in 2019, Awake is an independent watchmaker with a clear brief: take the object that measures time and use it to show where craft traditions meet contemporary watchmaking. The brand sums that up in its “Artisanship, Awakened” motto and a stated mission to “reveal the beauty of the world through the object that symbolises time,” a position that has guided a series of collaborations with named partners rather than anonymous suppliers. The approach is not tied to a single place. Awake’s dial work is developed with master lacquerers in Hanoi, its visual language borrows from Japanese raden, movements are Swiss, and straps are made in France—an explicit, cross‑border chain of making.
Across Awake’s communications, you see the same phrase recur: “conscious and poetic watchmaking.” It is a useful shorthand for what the brand is trying to do: tether the romance of a hand‑made object to specifics you can verify. In practice, that has meant giving proper space to craft and citing provenance. When Awake references raden, for instance, it is careful to point out that the historical technique involves inlaying fragments of mother‑of‑pearl, shell, or ivory into lacquer to enhance reflectivity and depth, and that its own interpretation is purposefully contemporary.
Founder Lilian Thibault frames the wider program as bringing different know‑how together—“uniting cultures in the tiny space of a watch dial”—which neatly describes the brand’s habit of naming the people and places behind the work.
Awake’s new Sơn Mài Fragments trio puts the dial front and centre: three 39 mm recycled‑steel references whose surfaces are built as iridescent mosaics by hand, using mother‑of‑pearl fragments set into Vietnamese sơn mài lacquer—a contemporary, cross-cultural reading of raden that’s designed to shift colour and density with the angle of light. Each dial takes roughly 15 hours, starting from a black‑pigmented base polished to a mirror, followed by tweezed inlays, a light veil of organic pigments in green, blue or pink, and around a dozen lacquer layers that are dried, sanded and polished to encapsulate the composition. The result is deliberately kinetic on the wrist, more miniature landscape than static pattern.
One of Awake’s more interesting through‑lines is its attention to material source. The lacquer used in its Sơn Mài projects is drawn from Rhus verniciflua trees in northern Vietnam. It takes around a decade before a tree yields usable sap, and even then, the annual yield is modest—about 200 ml, traditionally collected in the early morning during June and July. The sap is then purified and dehydrated to achieve the transparency and durability needed on a watch dial. This is the kind of detail that underlines Awake’s claim to “conscious” making: a small supply chain you can trace, rather than a generic “lacquered” label.
Night‑time legibility is handled in a way that aligns with the rest of the concept. Rather than heavy lume blocks, Awake uses what it calls a luminous signature inspired by a Japanese take on chiaroscuro. Hands and hour markers are built on Super‑LumiNova BGW9, then capped with faceted, polished steel elements—subdued in daylight, softly luminous after dark.
The broader watch around the dial sticks to pragmatic, modern specs. The case is recycled 316L steel, 39 mm in diameter with a 45.6 mm lug‑to‑lug and 11.8 mm in thickness, including the crystal, which should read compact on most wrists. There’s an anti‑reflective sapphire up front and a screw‑down caseback with a sapphire window. Water‑resistance is 50 metres. A small point of difference is the micro‑beaded bezel, engraved by laser with markings specific to each version.
Inside is La Joux‑Perret’s G101 automatic, a movement with 68 hours of power reserve and finishing visible through the display back. Awake specifies a tungsten rotor engraved “La Joux‑Perret for Awake,” finished with alternating sandblasted, polished and micro‑beaded surfaces to echo the dial’s light play.
Straps are supplied by Maison Jean Rousseau in Paris. The default option is matte black calfskin with coloured Alcantara lining that corresponds to each dial: forest green for the green version, midnight blue for the blue, and purple for the pink. Quick‑release spring bars are standard, and even the pin buckle is flagged as recycled steel. The decision to match lining rather than the outer leather keeps the wrist shot restrained while still giving each reference its own accent.
Closing thoughts
Last year’s first Sơn Mài edition paired Vietnamese lacquer with silver leaf; this latest chapter shifts to mother‑of‑pearl to push iridescence and depth. In practical terms, that means more variation across angles and lighting, and a dial that is likely to read differently from wrist to wrist. If you’ve followed the series since its start, the through‑line is the same—Vietnamese lacquer as structure—but mother‑of‑pearl gives the project a stronger light engine.
Put together, the Sơn Mài Fragments trio is a tidy summary of what Awake wants to stand for: clear authorship of materials and methods, an articulated supply chain, parts chosen to perform without distraction, and a price that keeps the conversation oriented toward craft rather than novelty. It also offers a bridge for readers who might be curious about métiers d’art dials but wary of precious‑metal pricing or ornate casework.
Awake Sơn Mài Fragments pricing and availability
The Awake Sơn Mài Fragments trio are limited to 100 pieces per colour, and are available now from the brand’s online boutique and retailers. Price: €2,250 (excluding taxes)
| Brand | Awake |
| Model | Sơn Mài Fragments |
| Case Dimensions | 39mm (D) x 11.8mm (T) |
| Case Material | Recycled 316L stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 50 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Métiers d’art dials in green, blue or pink |
| Strap | Matte black calfskin leather with coloured Alcantara |
| Movement | La Joux-Perret G101, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 68 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | €2,250 |